Experiences and proposals of young (1987)

Review of my and three other exhibitions by young artists from Kielce at BWA Gallery “Piwnice” “Echo Dnia” 25.06.87

Two interesting exhibitions are presented at the BWA “Piwnice” Gallery in Kielce. The first one, an individual exhibition, was proposed by the 35-year-old Jan Niksiński, a searching artist, but with an already established style, fluent in graphics. He is one of the best-educated Polish graphic designers – he studied in Gdansk, Warsaw, Vienna, worked as an assistant, in Salzburg, and more than that, he cooperated with Polish and Austrian publishing houses, had individual exhibitions in West Germany, Austria, Yugoslavia; West Berlin. He is currently one of the leading Polish graphic designers. His works are characterised by an excellent workshop, a kind of virtuosity of execution, which is of particular importance for an artist fluently using pencil, pen, collage, repainting, and thus versatility of means of expression. Most importantly, however, Niksinski is remarkably successful in combining abstraction with concreteness, innovative form with traditional content (landscapes from Nurnberg. “It used to be” ,,My home”). He is able to show the reality around him in a poetic but intellectual way. Using mixed techniques, he expresses the longings and dangers of contemporary man and arouses thought and reflection. He is already a well-formed artist with something to say, although he is still searching, despite his experiences; these have earned him positive reviews from Polish and foreign critics.